Theological Foundations of Pastoral Care in Catholic Universities

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Theological Foundations of Pastoral Care in Catholic Universities eJournal of Catholic Education in Australasia Volume 3 Issue 1 Article 6 17-8-2017 Theological Foundations of Pastoral Care in Catholic Universities Thomas V. Gourlay University of Notre Dame Australia, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/ecea Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Higher Education Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons, and the Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons Recommended Citation Gourlay, Thomas V. (2017) "Theological Foundations of Pastoral Care in Catholic Universities," eJournal of Catholic Education in Australasia: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1 , Article 6. Available at: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/ecea/vol3/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you by ResearchOnline@ND. It has been accepted for inclusion in eJournal of Catholic Education in Australasia by an authorized administrator of ResearchOnline@ND. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Gourlay: Theological Foundations of Pastoral Care in Catholic Universities Introduction The phrase ‘pastoral care’ is increasingly part of discussions in tertiary educational institutions interested in holistic education for their students. Everyone who is involved in any kind of student welfare is keen to provide for the ‘pastoral’ needs of their students, and student guides, and university vision and mission statements are littered with phrases which say as much. Indeed, with an increasingly competitive student ‘marketplace,’ for want of a better term, the requirements of universities of all kinds to provide for more than just the intellectual needs of students is felt all the more. Building on insights from Sacred Scripture, as well as the teachings of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Ex Corde Ecclesiae (1990), this paper will articulate what an authentic and theologically informed notion of pastoral care is. From this position it will look to demonstrate how such a theologically inflected notion pastoral care should form an integral part of the mission of the Catholic university as such. It will be argued that, while certain persons or offices within the university institution itself might be charged with a specific mandate to provide such pastoral care for students, staff, and faculty, all members of the university community bear some responsibility to show the kind of care that can appropriately be called ‘pastoral’ to all members of the university community. Understanding Our Context The following paper will take as its basis a specifically Catholic worldview, one shaped by faith in the doctrines of creation, Incarnation, and redemption, taking the form of creaturely being to be undergirded by a metaphysics of relationality and love rooted in the Divine life of the Trinity (Clarke, 1997; Schindler, 1996; Schmitz, 1997). Such a confessional perspective asserts that all hold a particular worldview which encompasses a lived understanding of the meaning of life, suffering, friendship and the like. Such worldviews are foundational to people’s actions, both as individuals Published by ResearchOnline@ND, 2017 1 eJournal of Catholic Education in Australasia, Vol. 3 [2017], Iss. 1, Art. 6 and within the communities in which they live and the institutions within which they work. While a faith-based worldview is easily defined and identifiable as such, there are a variety of worldviews which animate institutions, and exist in ignorance if not otherwise known and stated. No position is free from cultural or ideological bias and no worldview is neutral, even those claiming to be such (Cf. MacIntyre, 1988, 2007). This paper looks to unpack the theological foundations underlying the practice of pastoral care afforded students at Catholic universities. While there will likely be overlaps with how and why pastoral care is practised in institutions that do not operate from within a Catholic context, this paper aims to describe the uniquely Catholic contribution to the theory and practice of pastoral care in an educational context. Pastoral Care: A Catholic Definition The term ‘pastoral care’ is used in a variety of contexts. Despite the increased use of the term, the vagueness with which it is employed in many contexts renders the phrase meaningless or at least difficult to define. Pastoral care is traditionally understood as the care given by the ‘pastor’ – that person given charge over the herd or sheep or other livestock. In the context of Catholic and broader Christian and Judaic faiths, the image of the shepherd or pastor is traditionally one which is used in Sacred Scripture to describe God (cf. Ps 80:1 See also Gn 49:24; Ecc 12:11). One particularly memorable image–used frequently as a reading for funerals for believers and non-believers alike is Psalm 23. This iconic Psalm provides something of a summary of the way this shepherd motif is woven through the Scriptures as a whole. In the Scriptures, the image of ‘God as shepherd’ points to his continual direction, guidance and care for his people, the ‘sheep.’ There are numerous instances where ‘Shepherd’ is read as a title for God (Ps 80:1 See also Gn 49:24; Ecc 12:11), and God’s people as his ‘flock’ (Israel as God’s flock Ps 95:7 See also Ps 79:13; Ps 100:3; Jer 50:7; Eze 34:31), and the Church as God’s flock (1Pet 5:2 See also Lk 12:32; Acts 20:28-29). Using this well-known metaphor, https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/ecea/vol3/iss1/6 2 Gourlay: Theological Foundations of Pastoral Care in Catholic Universities the Scriptures develop an image of God by elaborating on the tasks undertaken by God as shepherd. The shepherd leads and guides, (Ps 23:2-3 See also Isa 40:11); the shepherd provides, (Ps 23:1 See also Gn 48:15; Ps 23:5-6; Hos 4:16; Mic 7:14); the shepherd protects, (Ps 28:9 See also Gn 49:23-24 ); the shepherd saves those who are lost or scattered, (Jer 31:10 See also Ps 119:176; Isa 53:6; Eze 34:11-16; Mt 18:12-14; and Lk 15:3-7); and, the shepherd judges, (Eze 34:17-22 See also Jer 23:1; Zec 10:2-3; Zec 11:16; Mt 25:32-46). In the Scriptures, God delegates his task as shepherd or ‘pastor,’ to faithful leaders, who in- turn act as shepherds over his people (Cf. Jer 3:15 See also Jer 23:4; 1Pet 5:2-4). God also gives, for example, those of David’s line who will shepherd and guard the people (Eze 34:23. See also 2 Sam 5:2 pp 1Ch 11:2; Ps 78:70-72; Eze 34:23-24; Eze 37:24; Mic 5:4; Mt 2:6). In the New Testament, the shepherd motif reaches its climax in the person of Jesus himself ‘the Good Shepherd’ and it is this role of shepherd over the people of God that is then delegated to the Apostles and their successors. The authors of Sacred Scripture frequently used this familiar image of shepherd and sheep to analogically describe the relationship of God, or his delegate, to his people. While the shepherd may not be the first image that comes to mind as being a particularly vivid one for people in the twenty- first century, one can be sure of the fact that it would have been for the readers of the Scriptures from around the time of their composition until the onset of the industrial age in the 1800s. The image of the shepherd is one of care and concern, one who, while set apart from those he leads, is inextricably united to them, sharing in their experiences and sufferings. The image of the shepherd is not one of a detached moraliser, he is the one who will “leave the ninety nine”, (Cf. Mt 18:12; Lk 15:4), and go after the lost or stray. It is in this sense that the shepherd or pastor motif is particularly useful in the context of care for students in Catholic educational institutions. The image of the shepherd as employed by the Scriptures then should be archetypical in discussions about ‘pastoral’ care in Catholic institutions. In seeking to provide pastoral care, staff in the setting of the Catholic university should strive to emulate that care which this good shepherd Published by ResearchOnline@ND, 2017 3 eJournal of Catholic Education in Australasia, Vol. 3 [2017], Iss. 1, Art. 6 provides for his sheep. In this sense then, pastoral care means caring for the person in an holistic way, one which acknowledges the unique physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs of each individual. It will entail acknowledging the individuality and the freedom of the students, and more importantly, it is an approach which always holds in mind their final end, that being union with God and the communion of saints in heaven. “Wherefore God alone can satisfy the will of man, according to the words of Ps 102… Therefore God alone constitutes man’s happiness.” (Summa Theologiae, 1911-1925: 1-2, q. 2, a. 8. See also, 1, q. 103, a. 5; 1-2, q. 1, a. 7; q. 9, a. 1; q. 13, a.2; q. 91, a.2). This notion of union with God as the final end of the human person finds more ancient roots in Catholic tradition also, as in the cor inquietum of St Augustine of Hippo, “for you have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (Augustine, 2003a Book 1.1). This touches on more fundamental notions of the meaning of the human person as conceived of within the Catholic tradition as such, which will be treated briefly below.
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